Chapter 397 Summer Offensive

In June 1939, the Battle of Nomenkan officially entered the second phase. Because Japan suffered a big loss in the Mongolian grassland in May, even Dongbabai Zang Zhongzou, who was in charge of the first wave of attacks, was killed on the battlefield.

The angry Japanese Kwantung Army gathered a larger number of troops to avenge the previous shame. In order to deal with this situation, Zhukov was appointed as the commander of the 57th Special Army by the Soviet Command on June 18.

After Zhukov arrived in Tumchag Prague, he began to gather troops and store and transport military supplies. He opened field military airports in Tumchag Prague, Sanbes and other places. Suzhou fighter jets began to deal with Japanese aircraft in the air.

On the second day after accepting the official appointment, Zhukov completely grasped the situation on the battlefield. He first arranged for Su aircraft to bomb Alshan, Ganzhuer Temple and Japanese gathering ground near Amugulang, and 500 barrels of gasoline were blown up and caught fire.

After being attacked by air strikes, the Japanese army was even more like a lynx with its tail stomped, howling wildly. The 23rd Division was dispatched, and Komatsuhara led more than 20,000 people to Nuomenhan, and the main force of the 7th Division, which was the strategic reserve team, was dispatched.

The Japanese army learned from the last time that there was no armored force and sent armored troops to strengthen artillery support. The Kwantung Army Command dispatched the 1st Tank Division and the 2nd Flight Group to support the 23rd Division, with a total of 12 infantry battalions, 70 tanks and 180 aircraft.

On June 21, Lieutenant General Saga Tetsu No. 2, the commander of the Japanese 2nd Flight Group, moved his headquarters from Xinjing to Hailar, and transferred 4 flight regiments to concentrate 17 combat bombings and reconnaissance aircraft squadrons.

In order to compete for air supremacy, the Soviet army did not show any weakness and dispatched 150 aircraft to attack Ganzhuer Temple, Japanese gathering sites and field airports in the area of ​​General Amugulang Temple, and Japanese planes were also dispatched in full swing. From the 22nd to the 24th, the two sides fought over the Nuomenhan area for three days, and nearly 60 aircraft were knocked down on the grassland.

Since then, the number of Soviet aircraft has increased continuously, and new fighter aircraft has emerged. The Japanese army has gradually lost the initiative and is in a passive position of being beaten.

The conflicts and battles since May, both the Kwantung Army Command and the 23rd Division on the front line, have experienced the strength of the Soviet Air Force. The 23rd Division reported to the military headquarters several times that to win the Battle of Halaha, we must first gain air superiority, with the premise of precluding the elimination of a group of Soviet fighter jets first.

To achieve this goal, we can only suddenly cross-border bombing, take the initiative, and destroy most of the Soviet fighter jets on the ground.

Given that the domestic General Staff Headquarters did not want the situation to expand and at the same time restricted the Kwantung Army from all aspects, the Kwantung Army took the initiative to violate the situation and was determined to take action first and then report again. They also made full preparations for this.

First, he ordered the Second Flight Group to repair and maintain the combat aircraft as soon as possible and be ready to attack at any time. This catered to the appetite of Lieutenant General Saga Tetsu, and was implemented unprecedentedly, and even said that it had achieved extraordinary results.

Then the combat order was issued in secret, not only not only did not report to the General Staff Headquarters, but also sent a special person to Hailar to issue it in writing to Lieutenant General Sagato.

Finally, in order to calm the reprimand of the General Staff Headquarters in the future and to prepare for discussion, the Kwantung Army instructed the puppet Manchukuo to issue a statement to confuse the public.

On June 25, the puppet Manchukuo government issued a "solid statement" on the Nomenkan incident. From June 19th to 24th, the Soviet Union and Haraha Mongolia Air Force flew into the Nomenkan area in our northern Xing'an province and dropped bombs, committing tyrannical crimes. The two armies of the People worked together to fight against the few and defeat the many with few. They shot down 62 enemy planes, severely punishing the brutal invaders and driving them out of their borders."

After the radio station was broadcast, the General Staff Headquarters far away in Tokyo was even more worried whether this information was smoke emitted by the Kanto Army before the action was unauthorized.

Lieutenant General Nakajima Takazo, deputy chief of staff of the General Staff, immediately called the Chief of Staff of the Kanto Army. The message was: First, the border disputes in western Manchuria should be repelled within the territory, and efforts should be made to avoid expanding the situation. The ancient army's historical policy was to not expand or delay this incident, so do not cross-border bombing. Second, in order to strengthen combat liaison, a special mission was sent to the airport by plane on the 25th.

At the critical moment, the General Staff adopted a retreating attitude. This was also expected by the generals of the front-line army. Since "lower defeated the upper party" became a common means of seizing power, the upper government has no choice but to be helpless against these imperial officials who are in charge of military armed forces.

But the staff of the military headquarters are also not short of young wise men with strong spirits. They were so angry that they scolded the cowards in Tokyo because of this kind of thing, and they quarreled together.

Masato Tsuji was particularly calm. He had been observing the actions of the Operations Division Chief and the Chief of Staff, and at the same time he was thinking about how to deal with the imperial envoy in Tokyo.

The situation was urgent, and Lieutenant General Isotani held an emergency meeting on the entrusted by the commander.

Isoga's thin face, who had little flesh, looked around the field and announced without expression that the commander's plan would not change, and the Kwantung Army must insist on doing it."

As soon as he finished speaking, he received warm applause immediately.

"We finally got this opportunity by the blessing of Amaterasu." Isotani continued to say that sooner or later the Manchurian problem would be solved. Is there a more appropriate time than the moment? I always firmly believe that the participation of the Soviet Union was limited. After this best opportunity, we are sinners. Well, let's discuss how to deal with the coming Wei-Sao. Of course, we must give the best reception and let him be given a decent job."

All the section chiefs and staff began to whisper with joy.

Major Masatoshi Tsuji, who has always been resourceful, took the lead in his lead. He asked the Chief of Staff before he spoke to you. The General Staff only suspected that we would take action, so the inspector came from the inspector. Okay, didn’t his plane land in Dalian first? We can send a specialist to accompany him. As for the inspector, we start from Dalian, fortress defense, naval engineering and airport garrisons, and then we can transfer a day. Then we can be kind and entertained, so that he can stay in Dalian for a day and night. With this period, we can all do it."

"Okay, that's great." Colonel Masao Terada danced and cheered after hearing this.

"No, no, but the Second Flight Group's actions are tense. Not to mention anything else, the large aircraft group's actions are not predictable," said Aviation Staff San Haokang.

"This is also a bet." Masato Tsuji was very upset and we took a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, we sent people to entangle the Wei Zhongsou and stabilize the General Staff Headquarters. On the other hand, we immediately urged the Second Flight Group to start immediately. I can fly to Hailar with Mihaojun immediately."

Isoya looked at everyone's anxious gaze, gritted his gold teeth, and three words popped out from his teeth and did it immediately."

The plane slid out of the runway, raised its nose and rushed towards the clouds.

In the cabin, Masato Tsuji stared at Sanhaokan Nobu Sanhaokun. Do you think for now, how do we and the Soviet army have the performance of the fighter jet, the quality of the pilot and the combat experience?”

Miyokoyo blinked and looked at Masato Tsuji curiously. Want to change his career to become an Air Force?"

Masato Tsuji grinned and said something, saying his heart, as a combat staff officer, the aviation side cannot know nothing, what do you think?"

"Masako Tsuji is really a qualified senior combat adviser. If the emperors are like you, it's different. Well, anyway, let's talk about it." Miyoshi Katsuki also wanted to communicate with Masako Tsuji, who always likes the superior and has a lot of tricks.

The plane entered the clouds, and it was pitch black, and the fuselage trembled. It was not until the cabin lights were on that Masatoshi Tsuji breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's a strong airflow." San Haokangzhi smiled slightly and said disapprovingly.

After a while, the plane drilled out of the clouds and continued to rise, and reached the clouds. Masato Tsuji leaned comfortably on the back of the chair and opened his mouth. Last time, the Nomenhan air battle, our army shot down a brigade of the Soviet I-15 in one fell swoop. The results were brilliant. It is said that a lieutenant shot down four Su aircraft by one. But in less than twenty days, the Soviet army transferred the I-16 again. The balance of the air combat was reversed, and our army was at a disadvantage. Is it a problem of the performance of the fighter or the quality of personnel?"

Sanhaokangzhi thought a little about the reasons and found that it was not explained in a few words. What about the performance of the aircraft? In terms of aircraft performance, our fighter jets are not among the fighters of various countries. For example, although the land attack aircraft is a little slower than the Sui-16, its maneuverability always prevails. As for bombers, the Soviet army has a t6-3 heavy bomber, no, it has a strong endurance and a large combat radius, but at the same time it has a weak point of slow speed and bulkiness. If there is no super escort formation to perform cover missions, whether it is air or ground artillery fire, it can be used as a living target."

Masato Tsuji listened very seriously. When he saw that the other party had a problem, he asked again, what about the quality of the pilot?"

"Our pilots are very outstanding, especially those who have fought on the frontal battlefield in China. It's just that there are too few, and of course there are many differences that have not been through actual combat."

"I also understand this point. Practical combat is one aspect, so daily training is also very important," asked Masato Tsuji.

Sanhao Kangzhi stood up, became energetic, thought for a while, said no, and said the problem. This involved issues of national strength and resources."

Masato Tsuji slapped his thigh and shouted to understand, that's it, that's it."

Sanhaokangzhi nodded first, our oil resources are all based on imports. In order to prevent the situation from worsening, we must strengthen strategic reserves. Under the conditions of ensuring the domestic economic operation, the supply of the military is limited. The navy and naval aviation are preferred over the army. This situation is true. So many of our pilots are trained on the ground, unlike Soviet pilots who can take off at any time."

Masato Tsuji was silent. He knew that the domestic manufacturing industry was capable of, but the steel was not enough, and the aircraft manufacturing industry was hindered. As for Nafei Steel's tanks, it was even less than the agenda. The limited steel navy had already used it to build warships.

"Masako Tsuji, the fatal weakness of the empire is its shortage of resources. Now, after being condemned by the League of Nations due to the holy war on the mainland, it withdrew from the League of Nations. I am worried that if this continues, Western countries will take sanctions against us, and that will make it even harder for us." Mihao Kangzhi was moved and lowered his head and murmured again from this standpoint. Instead, I agree with strengthening the navy so that they can ensure maritime access and defend the lifeline of the empire."

"No, no, Sanhaojun is too pessimistic. Maybe it's because I'm in the army, I don't think so."

Masato Tsuji's head was shaking like a rattle, and he raised objections to go south to the South Pacific. It was a strategic move to seize rich resources and cut off Western transportation lines. It should be said that there was no. But the risks were equally huge. Is the United States, Britain, France and Australia both a maritime power. Will they give up on our occupation of their corridors? Will they sit idly by and watch the empire seize the rich resources of the South Pacific without being moved?"

Seeing the remarks were not opposed, Masatoshi Tsuji continued to say, not to mention that many countries and regions in the South China Sea are vassal states of Britain and the United States, and are regions of interest to Britain and the United States. It can be seen that the end of going south is likely to be a decisive battle with the West too early, as Miyoko said just now, it is too early to use our current national strength. Because once that happens, Western countries will first cut off all our resources in the form of sanctions and tie our hands and feet. Remember, going south means going south to war with the West - especially Britain and the United States, making too many enemies."

Sanhaokangzhi listened attentively for a long time, but at first he didn't agree, but then he was a little sceptical, but the more he listened, the more he felt something was reasonable. He started nodding and kept muttering that something was reasonable.

"It's not true, it's true." Masato Tsuji swallowed and started his endless speech again. In contrast, going north to take the Far East and occupying Siberia can also obtain a large amount of resources. One can eliminate Soviet and Russian redism, and the other can prevent offending Western countries and reduce the risk to a minimum."

"The strength of the Soviet Union is not something that our country can conquer. This is a fat and strong polar bear." Sanhao Kangzhi expressed his concerns with palpitations. In this regard, he read a lot of information and information, and his evaluation of the Soviet Union was not as optimistic as some people.

Masato Tsuji nodded sincerely to agree. He felt that Miyoshi Nakasa was an officer who could ask questions, and not blindly obeyed was the excellent character of a soldier. He was determined to convince the other party as if he had persuaded others, and left a little shadow in the air force to create momentum for the future general star.

He took a sip of water and opened his mouth. The time is not for us to work alone with the Soviet Union. The Germans played their fists in Europe and cleaned up several small countries. In my opinion, it was just a warm-up exercise before the big move. Don’t they understand who the heavyweight opponent is? Can the commander of the Third Reich allow the bears around him to lie safely there? Even in his sleep, Hitler had one eye squint at the restless polar bear."

It is indeed just as Masatoshi Tsuji said, the Soviet Union dispersed its strength on both sides of defense. The Japanese Empire's army was the strongest army in the world. A mere million troops could drive millions of Chinese troops to flee everywhere. Ask yourself, no one could stop them.

In the hearts of Japanese soldiers like Masato Tsuji, if the Germanic nation is an excellent race in the West, then there is no doubt that the Yamato nation will be an excellent race in the East.

From the Meiji Restoration to the present, in just a few decades, their rise has been amazingly rapid. It is precisely because of this huge satisfaction and glory that the Japanese think they are an advanced nation and should take on the important task of leading the East and leading the world.

The scarcity of resources and the narrow territory made the Japanese turn their inner desire for wealth and materials into a high-sounding robbery theory.

Resources belong to the whole world and to all mankind. They are scattered all over the world. If you want to use them, you have to get it. How do you get it? Is it based on negotiation? Is it based on charity? No, it is impossible to rely on wisdom, strength, courage to lead the world, and the sharp sword in your hand.

Miyokatsuya looked at Masatoshi Tsuji, who was flying saliva across the street, and sighed in his heart: Is this bold and weird major? Is this person who has a bold and weird mind alone? Will the ending be like this person become a senior official of the empire in the future?

The plane bumped in the airflow of Xing'anling for a while, then plunged down the nose and entered a stable flight. A lieutenant reported that the commander was about to reach Hailar."

Masato Tsuji stood up and stretched his waist. He told Mihokano that Mihoka, we have to work nervously again. If possible, can we act with the bomber group? I have no doubt at all that everything we do will be recorded in history."

San Haokangzhi looked under the wing indifferently, but he was thinking in his heart: This tireless guy.

At 3:00 on June 27, 137 Japanese planes took off at Hailar Airport, and the formation was covered with the sky above Hailar. At 6:20, the Japanese army fleet arrived over the Tumchag Prague Airport and bombed indiscriminately. The airport was immediately covered with black smoke. The Japanese combat troops reported to the Kwantung Army Command that they shot down 99 Soviet planes and destroyed 25 ground planes.

In late June, the commander of the Kwantung Army ordered the 23rd Division to launch a ground offensive as soon as possible. The total force was 36,000 people, 182 tanks, 112 various artillery pieces, 180 aircraft and 400 cars.

On July 1, under the command of Major General Kobayashi, a 15,000 troops attacked the west bank of the Halaha River and captured the Sertauragai Heights on the east bank of the river at noon. Zhukov organized 150 tanks, 154 armored vehicles, 90 cannons, all aircraft and other troops to counterattack in three ways.

Since Bayingagang Heights are surrounded by open land, it is very conducive to aircraft and combat vehicles, all the Japanese army was exposed in front of Soviet tanks and armored vehicles.

The large-scale war finally broke out, and the Kwantung Army once again disobeyed the decisions of the top military and political leaders in Japan and privately provoked a military conflict of the scale of the battle.

This is a great opportunity that Hualian has been waiting for for a long time. The Third Legion stationed in Nanchang and the Fifth Legion lurking in Nanjing are both moved and are eyeing Hefei on the other side of the Yangtze River.

With more than 300,000 main forces gathered, the Chinese army waited for an opportunity to launch a long-prepared summer offensive with the goal of recapturing the Central Plains and paving the way for the army to advance northward.

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